Maybe like me you’ve become underemployed. Maybe you are one of the less fortunate who’ve become unemployed. Or maybe you’re even a college graduate who has discovered, that even with a degree, there are not many quality job opportunities out here right now. Sure you might be able to flip burgers for minimum wage, but that certainly doesn’t support a family or pay off loans from college.
Personally, I had to make some changes. I had worked full time in the same industry for about 20 years. I had started out as an unskilled laborer and learned skilled labor and customer service the first five years. From there I’d gone on to be a crew chief and supervisor for the next ten years. After that I went into logistics, management and sales for the last five years. Even after a long period of experience, honing skills and ever increasing responsibility I suddenly found me underemployed! With my wife out of work and things slow at my job we began falling behind more and more.
I found myself having to make the same kind of evaluation you are making about home based business. I had been exposed to many opportunities like Amway, Pre-paid Legal, Young Living, Mona Vie, etc. I’d spent a ton on books, audio books and eBooks. I’d checked out and read tons of books from the libraries. I even spent $6,000 on an e-commerce home business that I have not seen a dime of profit from. I’d started my own home and small businesses (even losing $50,000 on a small business). I’d been actively researching network marketing home business for a few years.
I thought about it quite a bit and determined what disadvantages might be of doing network marketing home business over a traditional business. (I knew just going to my job every day would get us nowhere but on the streets at that point. After 20 years, that was pretty shocking!) First of all, it would be wholly based on the quality and amount of effort and commitment I was willing to make, at least in the beginning. If I truly wanted leverage of my time and money I would have to work very hard and very smart for quite awhile. If I was lazy about it, my expectations and goals would certainly not be met.
There would be no healthcare, dental, vision, stock, 401K or any traditional benefits. Everything would be my responsibility. For me, this was no different than my job, since as a contractor I didn’t get any of that stuff anyway. If I went to another job I might get these things, but if I moved full time into a network marketing home business I would not.
I looked at these and other aspects and not only were there a lot of advantages of network marketing home business over a traditional business, but a lot of disadvantages could actually be advantages to me. It just depended on my point of view. For instance, since it is wholly based on my level of commitment I would get out of it what I put in. If I wanted a raise I would give myself a raise.
Advantages of a network marketing home business were many and varied. Ability to choose the amount of time put in daily and rate of growth would be an awesome benefit. I could put in 5 hours in my spare time or 50 hours. I could keep my job in a traditional business while working my home business part time or do network marketing full time. I chose to keep my day job while building my network marketing home business full time. Everything else was put on the back burner and I worked several hours in the morning before I started my regular job, getting up very early. If I had dead time in my workday, I would put in more time on the home business. I would work on network marketing for long days on my two weekend days.
My thoughts were that I would put in far more time, effort and commitment than the average network marketer is willing to do. I wanted to grow an organization fast reaching leverage and freedom as quickly as possible. Other advantages were to be had. The time flexibility was a phenomenal advantage. I had the freedom to put the time in whenever my schedule allowed as well. I could work in the middle of the night, during breaks at work, early morning, weekends or whatever it took. This was not to be had in a job or in a traditional business.
Most have heard and somewhat understand the concepts of leverage of both time and money. This is what the owner of a large business has. He gets a percentage of the efforts of many others. The lowest cost and quickest way for me to get that type of leverage was through the right network marketing home business. This was the place that had the least barriers to entry, but it had a steep learning curve. I discovered in my research three areas where most network marketers fail. Marketing effectively to generate unlimited quality leads, leadership and communication were the areas I found to be lacking in most network marketing home businesses, systems or so-called gurus. I resolved to make myself an expert in those areas while building my home business so that I could help to educate my down line in these areas.
If you have read any of my other articles or my blog you know that I try to speak objectively about this business. On this subject, I will admit I am biased. I love what I do. I have freedom on the horizon that I have never seen my life. I now get to really utilize leadership skills I have been developing for a lifetime. I have control of my destiny. There is a professor in Chicago named Dr Charles King who has been doing rigorous research on the network marketing home business phenomenon since 1994. He has created accredited courses in network marketing home business skills and teaches them as well. If you can find video on YouTube with him speaking, it is really worth watching for his well-educated and objective viewpoint on the business.